Back to school....And breathe!
As the summer holidays draw to an end, some of us will be gutted and some delighted. Don't get me wrong, we all love sleeping late and having more time with our babies but there is always that flicker of yearning when we remember what peace sounds like. I don't know about you but there are only so many times I can hear 'I'm bored' or 'I'm hungry' before I want to scream and run for the hills (love you really kiddo)!
So now it's time to think about getting ready to go back to school, or in some cases, starting a new school. New shoes, a new lunch box, pencil case, stationery, oh and don't forget everyone's favourite job of sewing in new name labels!
We, at GLR HQ, have enough kids between us to start our own football team so, in an attempt to be organised and ready for when the dreaded alarm clock shocks us out of our dreams next week, we have created a 'back to school' checklist in the vain hope of ensuring an easy (and cost-effective) transition back in to the routine.
1) Just breathe in...... Get the kid/s to try on their old uniform (if they're not going to a new school) just in case it can survive another term. I waste so much money buying new shirts/socks/skirts when they can easily survive a while longer. I always wait until the end of the holidays to do this as, you never know if your child is going to grow (or shrink) in the summer.
2) Get that pencil case ready. I don't know about you but, my daughter's school bag is still sitting there from when she brought it home on the last day of term. Now is the time that I go through her bag and pencil case to see if there is anything salvageable for September. She is starting her GCSE's this year, so I know that she will be needing a lot more in terms of supplies, which can be very expensive, so I am looking to save wherever I can. Hopefully, your child's school will also provide a list of essentials so that you don't buy too much. To make this part less painful, GLR are offering 10% off school supplies (and everything else) until the end of September. Use code WELCOME10 at checkout.
3) Did someone say early night? That's right. All those late nights, staying up late, one more story etc are coming to an end. A few days before term starts, I start to introduce bedtime back into our routines. In my opinion, teenagers are stroppy enough at the best of times without sleep deprivation added to the mix, so, gradually make bedtimes earlier. I also insist that my daughter's phone stays out of her bedroom at night (okay I pay her to leave it outside - but it's worth it)!
4) School lunches. My daughter was constantly complaining about the queues for lunch and the food available at school last term so I switched to making her a packed lunch. I am lucky that she likes everything, including salads, so it's not always the same sandwich and a packet of crisps every day. These days it's so much easier to put together a healthy and balanced lunch with dressing pots, pre-packed fruit portions, drink cartons etc. Although convenient, these options all come with so much single-use plastic that we can't help but think about the affect this is all having on our planet. www.beegreenwraps.co.uk is a great alternative to cling film. It is a reusable cotton food wrap enriched with organic beeswax which moulds around foods and keeps them fresher for longer. They look great too!
Bee Green Wraps are also offering 10% off your first order and, they will donate 5% of all profits to the Marine conservation society who do a fantastic job of protecting our seas and the living creatures in them.
5) Make a list. Just writing this article is making me dizzy. My next job is going to be to write a list of all the things that I need to get done before school starts next week!
Good luck and now starts the countdown to Christmas! ;-)
